What's remarkable communication? It focuses on the reader, not the writer. It's well-crafted. It engages. Remarkable relationships (business or otherwise) begin with remarkable communication.

May 21, 2008

5 Recipes for Success (and 1 for Tomatoes)

Seth Godin did a great post on how to read a business book, in which he pointed out that good business books are 95% motivation and 5% recipes for acting on that motivation. My own struggle with Godin's books is that I come out of them motivated as hell, but then I lose steam trying to translate the big idea into a recipe I can act on.

In fact, you could probably classify a lot of what I do as writing recipes people can use to act on the motivation they get from brainy strategists like Seth Godin or Tom Peters.

Anyway, here are some terrific recipes for your own professional and communication success. Plus one for when you have not-that-great tomatoes, because hey, we've all been there.

Cold Calling: Destined for Failure. If you're doing any cold calling, this great post gives specific suggestions for tactics that will get better results with less pain. It's also an excellent example of how to do a little seat-of-your-pants marketing through conversation, also known as the anti-elevator-pitch.

The Pocket-Sized Guide to Blogging. Skelliewag hasn't posted much lately, but she's back with an excellent comprehensive (and succinct) guide to what makes a blog work well. Follow this advice and you will see results in your blog. Nice to see her return!

How to Handle Customer Email. Terrific post about the right and wrong way to handle email from your customers. Yes, it's common sense, except no one is doing it. You could be.

If you ever have to present information to anyone, allow me to grab you by the lapels and recommend that you pick up the book Beyond Bullet Points. While you're waiting for Amazon to deliver it, check out the slide show How to Avoid Death by Powerpoint, which will whet your appetite and get you thinking in the right direction. You don't have to actually use PowerPoint to use this--it's a killer recipe for any kind of talk, speech or presentation you might make.

While we're on the topic of PowerPoint, go see James Hipkin's post about the Thread of Steel. He happens to tie it to PowerPoint, but it's an important exercise for any communication--an ad, a newsletter article, a blog post.

You know how you get tomatoes from the store and they look like they will be amazing, and then they're . . . not amazing? The charming and witty food writer Casey Ellis has a solution. The Tomato Wars.

Lawrence, I did pick up Presentation Zen and I like it, but I didn't find it *useful*. To use the analogy of this post, Beyond Bullet Points is more of a recipe. I want to reread PZ, though, because I think he's making some important points and the book is genuinely beautiful. (And how many PowerPoint books can you say that about?)

I love it, Janice! That makes me very happy to read.

Loraleigh, I have a hard time with longer blog posts as well. Our attention is just so divided.

I just found you recently ( through Copyblogger) and have, in a very short time, become a raving fan! You are one of the most entertaining, imaginative,inspirational, lively, down-to-earth, real, informative and just darned helpful writers on marketing that I have ever come across.

You always make me smile (and often laugh out loud), a quality that goes on the very top of my list of what makes a great writer.

You certainly deserve to get lots of attention and tons more raving fans!